In Progress: And I Thought I had Seen Short-Run Kits….. Silver Cloud’s 1/48 MB.5

I’m starting on a new kit for a commission build, one that has redefined the meaning of “short run” for me.

It’s Silver Cloud’s 1/48 Martin Baker MB.5. It was a prototype British fighter that never went into production. Externally, it looked a bit like a P-51 in overall shape and layout.

Of course, I was not surprised by the state of the parts, as I had read reviews that said this was truly a low-pressure injection molded short run kit. Every part will need cleanup. To describe the extra bits as “flash” is generous. Some of the interior parts have giant blobs of plastic that will need to be Dremeled away. (Or, to be more precise, cheap-Chinese-knockoff-Dremeled away.) The instructions are from the minimalist school, to say the least. “This goes generally here” seems to be the order of the day.

However, some initial test fitting shows that when everything is cleaned up, the parts are not actually that bad. The engraved surface detail is actually quite fine and very nice. The canopy will need some work. Though it is injection molded, I’d guess it is at least 2-3mm thick. So if it’s going to be open, some creative engineering will be called for.

The detail bits are all metal parts. The entire cockpit, air intakes, landing gear struts, prop and spinner are metal. I plan to find as many resin and plastic replacements as possible, and I may swap in an aftermarket cockpit, or at least some components, just to give it some visual interest. (Assuming I can come up with an acceptable method to get the canopy thinned.)